


The Non-Double-Date and Its Aftermath

by ssa_archivist



Category: Smallville
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-12-23
Updated: 2001-12-23
Packaged: 2017-11-01 12:15:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/356654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssa_archivist/pseuds/ssa_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just like the title says.  Follows "Lying to the Kents"</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Non-Double-Date and Its Aftermath

## The Non-Double-Date and Its Aftermath

by PepperjackCandy

<http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=86102>

* * *

Title: Honesty -- Chapter 8, The Non-Double-Date and Its Aftermath Author: PepperjackCandy  
Series: Follows " Lying to the Kents"  
Archive : Smallville Slash Archive, my writing at fanfiction.net Rating: PG-13  
Pairing: Clark/Lex  
Category: Established Relationship  
Spoilers for: Nothing. I don't think. 

Disclaimer: I own nothing Smallville-related, or related in any other way to Clark Kent, Superman or any of the various creations of the wonderful folks at DC Comics. 

Feedback: Always welcome, either by e-mail or using the review system at fanfiction.net. 

A/N: I've noticed that, when you're in a restaurant that has music, if the music's turned down below a certain level, you can only hear the songs you know. I've tested this theory several times. We first noticed it when some song that my hubby wanted me to hear was playing and he kept asking if I could hear it, which I couldn't. Later, I heard a song that I know, but hubby doesn't, and I could hear it, but he couldn't. I have since tested this theory on my mother when we were at Chili's together and the only song that we both could hear clearly was "Runaway." Give it a try yourself and let me know the results of your research. 

WARNINGS: mini-VotW. Yes, with kryptonite. I don't know what happened. I really was going to put this development off, but the planets aligned correctly or something and I just couldn't help it :shrugs:. 

* * *

"Bill, hi. It's Lex Luthor." 

"You don't need to give your last name, Lex. You're the only Lex I know. Plus I have caller ID." Bill's voice had a smile in it. 

Lex chuckled. "Force of habit. You wouldn't believe how many people, when I say just Lex, answer 'Lex, who?'" 

Lex decided to get right to the point. "I'm calling in a professional capacity, actually." 

"Having problems with your eyes?" 

"One of my employees said something odd to me on Friday and I just needed someone to bounce it off of. And since you're an ophthalmologist, you seemed to be the perfect candidate." 

"All right." 

"You know the new Beetles? That sort of . . . acid green color?" 

"Yeah . . ." 

"Well, this employee says that to him, that paint looks . . . blotchy. Uneven. Different shades of green." 

"Sounds like a hallucination. Or some kind of optical illusion." 

"Right. That's what I thought. But he says he's never had anything like this happen until those green cars came out. And it doesn't happen with anything else. Not other cars, not other colors of that same car, not painted walls or anything like that." 

"Have his eyes been tested?" 

"For what?" 

"Well, color deficiency springs to mind first." 

"But would this be a deficiency? Is there such a thing as a color surplus?" 

Bill chuckled. "Never heard of one before, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist." 

"How would you go about testing for something like a . . . color surplus?" 

"Short of dissecting the patient's eye?" 

"Yes. Short of dissecting the patient's eye." 

A long pause. "Some equipment's available. But it's very expensive and mostly experimental. I think there's one in Metropolis, but I'll have to get back to you on that." 

"Thanks, Bill. Oh, and one more thing." 

"Yes?" 

"Are there any books on human vision you could recommend to me?" 

So it was that when Lex came to pick Clark up for their lunch with Pete and Lana, he refused to think of it as a double-date, Lex brought a copy of {Optics of the Human Eye} with him. He was on the front porch of the Kent farmhouse reading when Jonathan walked up. 

"Doing a little reading there, Lex?" Jonathan leaned over and squinted at the title. "Sounds riveting." 

"Actually, it is." 

"This have anything to do with that project Clark said you were working on? The meteors?" 

"Yes, actually, it does." Lex made a mental note of the page number and closed the book. {How I'd love to just be able to say, 'I'm trying to figure out why Clark sees the rocks glowing,' but that's not to be, with all of the secrets we're keeping from each other. The right hand doesn't know what it's doing, much less what the left hand's doing, anymore. I wish there was something - anything - that I could do about some of these damned secrets.} 

Clark interrupted this train of thought. "Hey. Ready to go?" 

"Yeah. As ready as I'll ever be." Lex said with a smile that didn't touch his eyes. 

"I'll see you after lunch, Dad." Clark smiled at Jonathan, but Lex saw the unease in his eyes, mirroring his own. 

Together they walked to Lex's car. "What're you reading?" Clark asked. 

Wordlessly, Lex handed the book to him. 

"The human eye? Lex, I hate to break this to you, but . . ." 

"I know. But if I'm going to be studying your eyesight, I have to have something to compare it to, right?" 

They climbed into the car together, and then Clark dropped his pretense. "All right, Lex. What's going on? Have I done something wrong?" 

Lex shook his head and smiled warmly. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just distracted. What do you know about why your Dad doesn't like me?" 

Clark shrugged. "He says it's something about how your Dad does business." 

Lex smile turned wry. "Interesting way to put it." 

Lex drove a decent way from the Kent farm and pulled over to the side of the road. "Clark?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I'm sorry." 

"For what?" Clark asked in a tone that Lex knew all too well as the 'wounded pride act' that his father had accused him of on so many occasions. 

"I know why your Dad doesn't like me. But it's, what's the phrase? not my secret to tell. I wish I could, but the full story needs to come from your father." 

Clark looked confused. "But won't that give him a chance to . . ." 

"What? Get the upper hand? Something tells me he won't use it, though. You'll get the plain, unvarnished truth from him. And that's something you need." 

He put his hand on Clark's arm. As Clark turned to him, Lex pulled him into a hug, kissing him gently. "I _am_ sorry." 

"I know." Clark smiled gently. "So, tell me about your research." 

"Two words. MR microscopy." 

"Huh?" 

"You're familiar with MRIs right?" 

"Um, sort of. I think I've seen something about it on TV." 

"You've seen those really detailed black-and-white pictures of, you know, brains and things?" 

"Yeah." Clark nodded. 

"Well, that's MRI. MR microscopy is the same thing, only on a, well, microscopic level." 

"So you want to look at my cells?" 

"We're going to have to. According to this," he tapped the book, "human color vision is contained in the cone cells in the retina. I'd like to get a look at what's on your retina." 

"And this MR microscopy's the way to do it?" 

"Unless you want me to dissect your eye." Lex answered with a grin. 

Clark returned his smile. "I think I'll stick with the MR thing." 

"I figured you would." Lex turned onto Main Street and kept driving. "Anyway, this is a new, experimental machine. MR microscopy has less definition than regular MRI, but this new machine promises to give _more_ definition. All of the organelles of your cells in living . . . black and white." 

Lex pulled into the parking lot behind the diner and, looking around to make sure no one was there to see them, they kissed quickly and then got out of the car. 

They walked together to the front of the building and entered the diner, where Pete and Lana were already waiting in one of the booths. When Clark and Lex reached the booth, Lana stood and walked to Pete's side of the table, sitting next to him. 

"Well, so much for playing footsy under the table." Clark whispered. 

"We might be able to manage. How flexible are you?" Lex grinned. 

With difficulty, Clark managed to avoid laughing out loud as they reached the table. 

"Hey, Pete. Lana." Clark said as he slid into the booth. 

"Clark. Lex." Lana responded with one of her Homecoming Queen smiles. " When Pete said that you'd be joining us, I was surprised, Lex. I'm glad you didn't have to work." 

"Oh, but I am working." Lex responded. "Not on paperwork, no, but Clark here helped me come up with a new idea that I'm currently researching. Fortunately, I can do that anywhere. I have the books I need in my car." 

Lana seemed slightly overwhelmed. "Oh. I see." She nodded. 

"Part of the danger of being friends with a scientist." Clark smiled. "You get to hear all about his latest ideas." 

"I didn't think it was that much of a chore for you." Lex grinned. 

"Oh, it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it." 

The waitress came by, and they ordered their beverages and appetizers. 

"You know," Lex said, "The four of us should go up to Metropolis sometime. Go to the zoo or something." 

Lana brightened at this. "I love the Metropolis Zoo! It'd have to be an all-day thing, though. I mean, three hours there, three hours back . . ." 

"Not the way I drive. Usually." Lex added this last when Lana looked at him wide-eyed with shock. 

The waitress came with their beverages and appetizers, one appetizer per diner, and Clark and Lex looked at each other for a moment. They didn't go to restaurants often, but Lex had carryout delivered to his house for them frequently, and they had always shared an appetizer before. They didn't want to freak Lana out, and they didn't want to hurt Pete by moving their friendly lunch into "date" territory, so they sat there, side by side, their thighs brushing together, eating their . . . separate . . . appetizers. 

Chloe came by then. "Hey, guys. Did someone plan a party and forget my invitation?" 

Clark winced at the hurt in Chloe's eyes and tone. 

"Chloe! Well, this was just a sort of spur of the moment thing, you know . . ." Pete tried to explain feebly. 

Chloe looked around the table, at Pete and Lana, then at Lex and Clark. There was a light in her eyes when she looked at Clark that he'd only seen when she was puzzling something out. She was invariably right. 

{Oh, God. She's onto us.} Clark thought, his heart sinking. 

But then Chloe winked at him and grinned. "You mind if I join you?" 

Clark, wondering what the wink had been for, was the first to respond. "No. Go ahead." 

No sooner were the words out of Clark's mouth than Chloe had pulled a chair from a nearby table over to the head of the booth. With a wicked grin, she snagged a cheese fry from Lex's plate. 

{All right, Chloe. What are you thinking about?} Clark wondered as the waitress came around again to take their orders. 

"Separate checks, please." Pete clarified for her. 

"Nonsense." Lex said with a smile. "Why do you invite the billionaire's son to lunch, unless you want him to pick up the tab?" 

"That's not it at all," Pete hastened to assure him, but then he realized that Lex was kidding. "Very funny." 

"Yes, I was kidding." Lex looked up at the waitress. "But I really did mean for you to give me the check for all of us." 

"Very well, sir." The waitress said as she collected their menus and left the table. 

"Clark, come over here." Chloe said as she stood. 

Lex stood to allow Clark to follow Chloe. 

Once they were outside, Chloe said, "I know why you didn't invite me along." 

"Why?" Clark asked in a tone calculated to make Chloe explain. 

"Well, I'm a fifth wheel on your little double-date." Chloe grinned and her eyes dared him to deny it. 

"What? How could you . . .?" Clark spluttered. 

"It's all right. I've known about the two of you for at least a month now, though I think it's been going on longer." 

"Two months." Clark responded without thinking. "I mean . . ." 

"Two months? Since January. I'll hand it to you, Kent. You've done really well hiding it. But I've known you for four years now and I don't think that many other people could possibly have guessed that you and Lex are . . . more than friends." 

"Pete knows." 

"Pete knows? You told Pete and not me?" 

Clark shook his head. "No. Lex needed Pete to cover for us when we went out of town last weekend . . ." 

"The two of you went out of town together? You must be pretty serious about each other." 

Clark shrugged, blushing. "Yeah. I guess so." 

"So, finish telling me what's up." 

"Well, Pete covered for us, and he sort of guessed why Lex wanted to take me away. And that's why we didn't invite you. Pete wanted it to be a just friends looking thing, but he wanted that with-a-dating-couple vibe in case Lana decided that she wanted to make it a date." 

"Ah. So I really am horning in, then." 

Clark shook his head. "No. We really didn't mean to leave you out. It really did just happen that way. You're welcome to stay and eat with us." 

"You're sweet, Clark." Chloe gave him a hug. 

"Just don't flirt with me." 

"Lex gets jealous, huh?" 

"I can only hope . . ." 

They walked back into the diner together and Chloe took her chair at the end of the table, while Clark slid right into the booth next to Lex so that he was between Lex and Chloe. 

Moments later, their food arrived. 

They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, until Clark realized that Lex was . . . chanting under his breath. " I was havin' this out-of-body experience, Saw these cosmic beings . . ." He looked up at the other four. "What? It's {Cosmic Thing.} B-52s?" 

They all shook their heads slowly. 

"Welcome to the generation gap, apparently. You can't hear that?" 

"No." 

"Nope." 

"Afraid not." 

Lex looked at Clark. "I'm not hallucinating, am I?" 

"Probably not." Clark grinned at him. 

Lex shrugged. "Well, the B-52s are pretty mild, as hallucinations go." Then he continued eating, tapping his foot to the music that only he could hear. 

They continued eating, talking about their classes, Chloe peppering Lex with questions from her conversations with her father about the plant, Lex offering sage advice as a survivor of high school and college. 

Suddenly, Lana gasped. "I hear it now." 

Everyone paused in their conversation. "What is it?" Lex asked. 

Lana shook her head. "{Hero.} Enrique Iglesias? You know?" 

"I do indeed." Lex said smiling and looking at Clark. 

Suddenly, all five of them could hear it, as clearly as if Enrique were sitting at the next booth. Lex reached over beneath the table and unobtrusively squeezed Clark's hand. Clark looked back and smiled as he squeezed back. 

Suddenly, the song ended, and the music faded back into incoherence. 

"That was really weird." Chloe said. 

"Never had anything like that happen before." Pete agreed. 

"You know," Lex offered, "I bet it's a perception thing. Like how you can gloss over errors because you're reading what you _think_ is there, rather than what really is, or how you never notice the blind spot in your eye because your brain fills in what's missing. If you know the song, you can fill in the notes you'd otherwise not be able to hear." 

Lana nodded, smiling. "That makes perfect sense." 

"Leave it to an engineer to explain it." Clark said with a smile that made Lex want to kiss him. 

They finished their meals and then split up, each of the four teenagers agreeing to check with their respective guardians to see if they would be free for a trip to the Metropolis Zoo the next Saturday. 

Chloe gave Clark a wry grin and a wink, and then headed off for home as Pete and Lana went towards Nell's flower shop and Clark and Lex headed for Lex's car. 

"Oh, now that's weird." Clark said. 

"What is?" 

"I'm still having that edge-of-hearing music thing going on." 

"What are you hearing?" 

"Britney Spears." 

Lex grimaced. "Heaven forbid." He paused. "Nope. Don't hear anything. Which song?" 

"It's that hit me one more time song." 

"I know that song. God knows you couldn't get away from it a few years ago. I should be able to hear it. But I can't. I wonder why not." 

Clark shook his head. "Dunno." 

"I'm wondering if you're coming into another power." Lex mused aloud. "Let's go for a walk and see what we can find." 

They returned to Main Street and began to walk slowly, while Clark listened for hints of anything beyond the range of normal human hearing. Suddenly, he perked up. "It's Lana. She's yelling." 

"What's she saying?" 

"'Nell! No!'" Before Lex could respond, Clark was off and running towards the flower shop, Lex trailing along behind him. 

The flower shop was a scene of utter chaos. Nell, Pete and Lana were all unconscious, and the shop was being wrecked by a woman that Clark recognized, Jenny McIntyre. Her wheelchair lay unused, blocking the entrance, but Clark was able to clear it easily and headed right for Jenny. 

He placed a hand on Jenny's arm, trying to calm her down. "Jenny. Miss McIntyre. What's wrong?" Immediately he was hit by waves of nausea and knew that somehow Jenny McIntyre had been mutated by the meteors. 

The woman was hysterical. She easily pushed one of the counters to one side, babbling incoherently. The only word Clark could pick up was Nell's name. Clark knew he couldn't knock her unconscious without risking harm to one of his friends. Or to Nell, come to that. So instead, he came around behind her, grabbing her arms and holding her pinned that way. She continued to struggle and yell, but Clark was barely able to restrain her. When she thrashed once, Clark saw the glow of meteors and realized that she was wearing a pin made from them, just like Lana's necklace. 

Lex arrived, "What can I do to help?" 

Fighting the nausea that almost overtook him, Clark yelled back, "Call 9-1-1 and ask for an ambulance. We need a sedative or tranquilizer or something here." 

The next minutes were a nightmare of Clark holding Jenny motionless while growing weaker and sicker by the moment. Finally, an eternity later, the paramedics arrived. Lex quickly explained what had happened, and they came in with a hypodermic needle and, as Clark used his last bit of willpower to hold her steady, stuck her with it. She was out in seconds. 

Clark, feeling as weak as a kitten, crawled into the corner until the green of his skin could fade. Lex directed the paramedics, who radioed for another ambulance. Soon, Lana and Nell were also strapped to gurneys and loaded into the second ambulance. Pete had started to regain consciousness. 

He sat up. "What's going on?" 

Lex crouched down next to him. "Jenny McIntyre's off to Metropolis General. Lana and Nell are both going to Lowell County, and Clark is over there in the corner. He needs your help." 

"Clark? What happened to him?" 

"No time to explain. But he rescued all of you from Jenny. Now go and keep an eye on him while I bring my car around." 

Pete crawled over to the corner where Clark huddled, shaking. "Clark? What's wrong?" then Pete caught a glimpse of Clark's skin. "Jesus! You're green! What happened?" 

Clark looked up at Pete, pain shining from his blue eyes. "Pete - I - " and passed out. 

Minutes later, Lex came around with the car, and Pete helped him carry the unconscious Clark and lay him in the back seat. 

"He's got to get to the hospital." 

"No." Lex shook his head firmly. "We can't. We have to take him home." 

"But . . ." 

"No. The Kents can handle this." {I hope,} he added silently. 

Lex and Pete climbed into the front seat of Lex's car and they took Clark home. 

Martha ran to the car as Pete and Lex lifted Clark from the back seat. "Oh, my God! Clark!" Martha arrived at the side of her stricken son, and Lex breathed a sigh of relief that Clark's color had faded from the virulent green to a color more akin to seasickness. 

"He took on another mutant." Lex informed her as they stepped up to the porch. "If I'd only known what was going on before it was too late. That damned allergy." Lex added for effect, to convince the Kents that he was truly in the dark about the origin of Clark's sensitivity to the meteorites. 

Once Lex and Pete had taken Clark upstairs and deposited him on his bed, Jonathan showed up. "I saw Lex and Pete coming in - carrying Clark?" He asked before he realized that Lex and Pete were in the room. 

"Boys." He addressed them tersely. "You can go on home now. Mrs. Kent and I have things under control." 

Lex, not wanting to contaminate Clark's room with another in the endless parade of conflicts with Jonathan Kent, stepped out into the hallway, drawing Pete behind him. 

"You're not going to leave, are you?" Pete asked, astonished. 

Lex shook his head. "No. We're going to go downstairs and get chairs from the kitchen. Then we're going to bring them upstairs and wait right here in the hallway until Clark's out of the woods." 

Pete grinned at Lex and together they headed for the kitchen. 

Meanwhile, Clark's color was improving, but he hadn't regained consciousness. Then he began to call out, softly, "Lex . . . " 

Jonathan and Martha looked at each other and Martha could see the anger building in Jonathan's eyes. 

"Maybe it's not that bad," Martha insisted gently. 

But as moments ticked by, and as Clark began to call for Lex again, Jonathan's temper hit the boiling point. Clenching his jaw, he stomped from the room. 

He was completely surprised to find Lex and Pete waiting patiently in the hallway, seated on chairs brought up from the kitchen. 

"Clark's asking for you." Jonathan said, never meeting Lex's eyes, for if he had, he would have seen relief and joy washing over Lex's face at this. 

Jonathan waited until Lex had gone into Clark's bedroom and closed the door, then he advanced on Pete. "Pete . . ." 

Pete didn't like the deliberate way Jonathan approached him. "Yes, Mr. Kent?" 

"What, exactly, is the nature of the relationship between Lex Luthor and my son?" 

Pete's eyes went wide as he debated internally. Finally, deciding that there was no keeping it a secret anymore, with Clark calling out for Lex. "They're dating, sir. Have been for a while now." 

This made Jonathan's blood boil. He'd always known that Lionel had planned . . . something to repay him for what he'd done, but to have his son set out to seduce Clark. That was beyond the pale. He couldn't take it for one. More. Second. 

Without another word, Jonathan left the house, leaving Pete staring after him. 

Lex perched on the edge of Clark's bed, holding Clark's pale, cold hand in his. "Clark. You can't leave me like this. I couldn't go on without you. You hold the mortgage on my soul." 

Lex felt a warm hand on his shoulder and looked up to lock eyes with Martha. The pain that Lex felt, he saw mirrored in Martha's eyes. 

Martha's hand tightened on Lex's shoulder and Lex reached up to cover her hand with his own, drawing some measure of strength from the connection. He then tried to will Martha's and his own combined strength to Clark. 

"Lex." Clark said simply. 

Lex looked up at Martha, who stood, amazed, as she looked down at her son. "This is the first time he's sounded . . . comfortable since he's been here. It seems that you're good for him." 

Lex, stunned, looked up at Martha, never releasing Clark's hand. 

"How long have you and my son been in love?" 

The question took Lex by surprise. "I've loved Clark for as long as I've known him, I think. I first felt . . . a connection to him when he saved my life by the river. Clark, I don't know. We got closer really gradually, until Christmas." 

"What happened on Christmas?" 

Lex looked chagrined. "He came by to drop off your baked goods, and stayed, for a while." 

"I remember that. And then when he came home, he suggested that we invite you over for New Year's Eve." 

"Did he? He never told me. Well, anyway, a song that reminded me of him came on and I sort of . . . asked him to dance with me." 

Martha's jaw dropped. 

"Well, he wanted to kiss me, but I told him no. I said that I wanted to wait and not risk our friendship." 

"And?" 

"So I told him to wait until January and tell me then if he still wanted to kiss me. He did." 

"I admit that I might not want to know this, but how long into January did you wait?" 

"You're right. You don't want to know." Lex's eyes shuttered momentarily, until he focused on Clark's pale face again, then they flared with life -- a life dedicated to Clark. 

"Lex." Martha put her hand on his free hand. "It doesn't matter. As my mother-in-law would have said, 'that horse has already left the barn.'" 

Lex looked up at Martha sheepishly, the left side of his mouth quirking up in a smile. 

Moments later, he spoke again. "You know that some cultures believe that people are born without a soul, and they have to earn one?" 

"Do you think that's true of you?" 

Lex shrugged. "I don't know. I'm an engineer, not a theologian. But," he paused as he thought, "if it is true, then I think I've made a lot of headway in earning mine, thanks to him." 

They lapsed into silence for a few long minutes, then Martha said, "Jonathan's been gone an awfully long time. Maybe I should check on him." 

"You can go on ahead. We'll be fine here." Lex assured her. 

Martha stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind her. "I didn't know you were here, Pete." 

"Yeah. Well, Lex and I were waiting to see how Clark does . . ." 

"He's still unconscious. Why didn't you come into the room with Lex?" 

"I just sorta figured they'd want to be alone." 

Martha did the math on this comment quickly and realized that Pete had known about Lex and Clark's relationship. She decided not to press the issue. There were more important things involved. "Have you seen Mr. Kent?" 

"He's gone." 

"Gone where?" 

Pete shrugged. "Dunno. He asked me about Lex and Clark." He stopped, wide-eyed, at the realization of what he'd just said. 

"And then what happened?" 

"He left." 

"Maybe he just went for a walk." Martha said hopefully. 

Pete shook his head. "I heard the truck engine start after he left." 

Worried, Martha returned to her son's bedside. 

"Did you find out where he is?" 

"No. Pete told me that Jonathan left. In the truck. Right after Pete told him that you and Clark were . . . seeing each other." 

Lex was suddenly furious. He knew that Clark should never have told Pete the truth. "He told Mr. Kent? I'll kill him!" 

Martha put a restraining hand on Lex's arm. "You saw how Jonathan was when he left the room. Would you be able to keep a secret when faced by that?" 

Lex, chagrined, sighed. "I'd like to think I would, but probably not." 

Then a horrifying thought occurred to him. "And if Mr. Kent's gone where I think he has, then, everything might be about to fall apart." 

Jonathan didn't remember the drive to Metropolis. He didn't remember getting on I-70. He didn't remember exiting on Washington Street. He didn't remember turning onto Commerce. The first thing he remembered was getting out of his truck in the parking garage of the LuthorCorp tower and buzzing the intercom to contact building security. 

A tinny voice came from the box. "Security." 

"I need to speak with Lionel Luthor." 

"I'm sorry, sir, but Mr. Luthor isn't available right now." 

"Call him and tell him that Jonathan Kent is here to see him. He'll see me." 

"Yes, sir." 

Jonathan waited a couple of minutes, until the security guard came to the door. "Come with me, sir." 

The guard walked Jonathan to an elevator that stood open, waiting for them, and together, they stepped into the elevator. The guard put key into a slot and pushed the button marked {P}. P for penthouse, Jonathan guessed. 

After the elevator left them out on the penthouse floor of the building, the security guard went back downstairs, leaving Jonathan alone in a practically-empty hallway. The only things there were a small table with a floral arrangement sitting on it, and a door. Jonathan knocked. 

A few seconds later, Lionel opened the door. "Ah, Mr. . . . Kent, isn't it?" 

"You know damned well who I am." Jonathan snapped. 

"Yes. I do." Lionel sighed. "Well, come in and let's get this over." 

Jonathan walked into the apartment, noting the opulent furnishings and wallpaper, all in shades of dark blue. "You've remodeled." Jonathan said shortly. 

"Well, it has been, what is it? Nine years?" Lionel said sarcastically. "Oh, yes, nine years, four months and two days." 

Jonathan winced at the bitterness in Lionel's tone. "I just came to tell you that you won. Whatever you want, you can have it." 

"Really? And what did I do to deserve this honor?" 

"Nothing. Yet. I want you to make sure that your son leaves my son alone." 

"Leave your . . ." Lionel repeated softly, then he laughed dangerously. "Oh, of course. I should've known that you'd put two and two together and realize that someone like my Lex wouldn't normally befriend someone like, what is your boy's name again? Clarence? Cleveland?" 

"Clark." 

"Ah, yes. Clark. Such an unusual name." 

Something about what Lionel had said set off alarms in Jonathan's brain. He replayed their conversation in his head, and one word stuck out. {'Befriend'? But if Lex is only following his father's orders, then he should know that it's gone further than that. Unless this is just *Lex's* plan, and Lionel has nothing to do with it. Can I take the chance of telling Lionel something that could be that damaging to Clark if he doesn't already know?} 

Jonathan almost just left, but suddenly realized that if he did, it might make Lionel curious about Clark's relationship with Lex and put both of the boys in danger. So instead, he said, "What can I do that will make you call your son off?" 

Lionel smiled coldly. "Well, as much as I'd love to make you make a public statement taking responsibility for your actions, but it has been so long since then. I'll let you off easy. Just let me hear the words I've longed to hear for the past nine years." 

It took every ounce of willpower in Jonathan's body to force him to open his mouth and say the words that Lionel demanded. "I'm sorry I killed your wife and daughter." 


End file.
